GCSE: Tears of joy and relief as Farmor's School excels despite new tougher tests

GCSE: Tears of joy and relief as Farmor's School excels despite new tougher tests

Buy this photoCharlotte Gleeson is embraced by her Mum, shaking with happiness. Her results were "beyond expected" with a 9 (top grade) in maths and six A* grades

THERE was a lot of excitement at Farmors School, Fairford this morning, as the Learning Resource Centre filled with students and their families ready to discover their long-awaited GCSE results.

The scene was touching with whoops of joy alongside quiet celebration. There were also many tears of relief, as a common theme emerged that results in maths were much higher than feared, after a particularly arduous exam.

Charlotte Haynes and Lucie Baxter were two students who were over the moon with their results.

“I didn’t think there was a chance of passing maths,” Lucie said.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Charlotte added.

Head teacher Matthew Evans was really pleased with the results overall, especially with maths and English.

“The maths exam was so hard that if they’ve achieved good results they’re even more excited,” Mr Evans explained.

“Some of the questions were very very tough.”

Photo: It wasn’t just surprising maths results that caused joy this morning. Abby Francis achieved 100 percent in one of her history options. “I actually got an A in history!” she exclaimed.

Despite the curriculum and grading changes Mr Evans pointed out the higher grades had held up – being achieved in a similar proportion to previous years.

A or A*s accounted for 27 percent of the grades and 80 percent of students achieved grade 4 or higher in both mathematics and English, deemed by the government as a ‘good pass.’

Mr Evans explained: “Our results remain consistently high as exams get tougher. As national results are in decline, we continue to buck the trend.”

There was definitely a bit of relief though, after all the speculation about the effects of the new system before results day.

Photo: A very-pleased Rebecca Hitchman with her mother. She was “really chuffed” with her As and A*s, particularly proud to achieve a 9 in maths, which she told us wasn’t predicted.

Catherine Hitchman was one of the proud mothers at Farmors this morning, after her daughter Rebecca achieved a 9 in maths. Her relief was very evident.

“Sometimes parents are more anxious than the students,” she said. “You want them to do well, but not to put pressure on them.”

“It’s such a long wait, we’ve been trying to keep her mind of it until the day and then we can relax – all of us!”

The boys kept us waiting a little longer, but when they started coming in, the results were equally pleasing.

Photo: Alex Eaglestone admitted he was very nervous this morning, but was “relieved” when he saw his results and “feeling good” overall. As he should – he received three A*s, three As and a 9.

Daniel Stearn told us he was “very very pleased” with his marks. Will Bevis was more modest and offhand, saying he was “reasonably” happy. But Daniel was going to blow his trumpet for him, even if Will wouldn’t – “Reasonably? You got an 8!”

Overall, the group were very happy, and the students were already straight onto thinking about their future – signing up for sixth form on the spot.

Photo: Libby Slowley and Lydia Bailey sign up for sixth form after receiving pleasing results.

“We’re immensely proud of our students. I would like to thank the fantastic teachers that taught them and all the staff who have supported them through their time at the school,” Headteacher Mr Evans said.

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